Take It All Away
by RoseofDestiny
Summary: Jimmy's workaholic nature causes Cindy to leave him, taking their son with her. Can he find a way to get the two people who mean the most to him back?
1. Default Chapter

**Note from Destiny:** Don't let this prologue fool you. This story is specifically designed to make you cry. All of you reading this. If I find out there was one dry eye, I'll just come back with more vengeance and create an even sadder story. Such are my ways. Perhaps you think this is...rude, I shall say, of me? These are cartoon characters. Perhaps you will find solace in this as you continue, though this first chapter is so ridiculously sweet it may test your gag reflex. Kindly review.

_The waves crashed against the beach, bowling the little boy over. He fell into soft sand, and allowed the waves to wash over him, then, as they returned to the ocean, take him with them. He laughed and smiled. There was nothing to worry about, after all. His mother and father were on the beach as well, keeping a close eye on them._

_"Matt!" His mother called, "Matt, be careful out there, all right?"_

_"Yeah," His father called teasingly, "Don't want to let the sharks get to you!" _

_"It's ok, Daddy! It's all right, Mommy!" Matt called back to his parents, making his way awkwardly through the waves, trying hard not to stumble. "I have you to protect me! You'll never let anything get me, right?"_

_"Of course not, love.." His mother smiled, her green eyes lighting up. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, warming him. "We'll always keep you safe, I promise."_

_"Thank you, Mommy." Matt smiled. At eight years old, he couldn't understand everything, but as far as he could tell, whatever his parents said, they meant. They would protect him from anything. _

_His father took him from his mother, and tossed him easily onto his shoulders. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get home before it's dark." _

_The sun was setting in a pink and orange painted sky, the sun going down in a red brilliance, nearly even with the horizon. Then, it sunk below for some sleep, but Matt smiled anyways. He knew the sun would wake up before he did the next morning._

_"Buckled up?" His mother asked, as she took her own advice, then adjusted her seat._

_"Check!" Matt bounced in his chair, ready for his father's usual saying. "Say it Daddy, say it!"_

_His father checked the rearview mirror, using it to look at his son. "All right...turbines to speed and -"_

_"Blast off!" Matt concluded, clapping his hands jovially. His father had been doing this for him for as far back as he could remember._

_"Jimmy, we better get going." His mother addressed his father. "It's almost past Matt's bedtime already."_

_"Yeah, you're right, Cindy." His dad answered. "Let's get goin, sport."_

_By the time they pulled up to the house, Matt's eyes were closed tightly in sleep. His father took him out of the car, and cradled him in his arms. "He's getting big.."  
_

_"Yes," His mother agreed, opening the door to their house. "But Jimmy..would you promise me something?"_

_"Anything, Cindy."_

_"Stay the way you are..be a good father to him."_

_"Of course, Cindy." He kissed her on the cheek before ascending the stairs. He set Matt into his bed, and tucked him in, then placed his favorite teddy bear beside him. "I promise.."_


	2. Leaving

**Author's note: **2 more replies for Take It All Away then for poor Broken..but then again, this was anticipated. After all, Betty and Nick will always inevitably take a back seat to something involving Jimmy..it is his show, after all. I'm trying to keep this as real to life as is humanly possible with cartoon characters - some OOC is only inevitable. And now, Chapter One. The previous chapter, if I forgot to indicate (and I believe I did) was a prologue.

"Just talk to me for once!"

"I have to get this done, Cindy, I don't have time to talk!"

"You never do!"

Matt pulled the covers over his head, in a desperate attempt to block out the sound of his parents arguing. As always, the flimsy blanket did nothing but suffocate him half to death, and he was forced to throw it off of him once more, the sound of his parents yells filling his ears, overcoming his ten year old mind.

_Why, dad? I don't get it..we were all so happy.._He glanced longingly at the photo on his dresser. He was on his father's shoulders, his mother standing beside them, holding her husband's hand. They had gotten a tourist to take the picture...the day stood out so well in Matt's mind, perhaps because it was the only happy memory he had.

Now they were all filled with fights..of his father being too busy to do anything other than work - he often went days without shaving, sleeping, or eating. Of his mother being too busy becoming full of hatred towards his father that she only had time to cook dinner, clean, and mutter under her breath, curses against ever marrying 'that man'.

His only means of escape was school, but that did little to help lately. His best friend, Hosea Esteves, was with his parents in Mexico, and his other friend, Lena Wheezer, was out of town as well. They were the only ones that could make it better, but they were of little use so far away.

Why did it turn out this way? All he wished was to go back to being that child on his father's shoulders, for his father to turn back into the kind man he had been. He grabbed a stuffed animal from off his bedside table and flung it across the room.

It was a teddy bear. The same one his father had given him when he was born, the one he used to sleep with every night until he was nine. But now, he so desperately needed a friend..just one friend..

He picked it off the floor and hugged it to his chest as he used to, closing his eyes, praying to go back to that day. He didn't know why he prayed - his parents weren't religious, and neither was he. Yet for now, he needed there to be a God. Needed someone with power to help him.

"Is that how you feel!" Once more, his father's harsh tone and loud words pierced his thoughts. "Because if it is, Cindy, then why the hell are you still here? Just leave already!"

"Fine." Matt let in a sharp breath. She sounded so..calm. "Fine..but I'm taking Matt with me."

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can! Open your eyes, James..you never do anything for him anymore. You don't even talk to him. I see the way he looks at you, the loneliness in his eyes...You've changed, Jimmy. You're not the man I married. You're not the father you were."

Silence.

It grew throughout the house, disturbed only by the soft creaking of stairs as his mother ascended them. "Matt?" She pushed his door open, and he tried not to look guilty for listening in. "Pack some of your things, ok? We're going on a trip for a little while.."

"How long?"

"Long enough."

Matt didn't ask for anymore information. His mother looked too tired for him to want to argue with, so, obediently, he dug out his suitcase from under his bed and haphazardly began to throw clothes inside. He paused for a moment - there was enough room for one more pair of pants, but instead he grabbed the photo from the day on the beach. He wrapped it carefully inside one of his shirts to keep it from breaking, then zipped the suitcase up.

"You ready?" His mother came in again, toting a large bag. "Don't bother with changing out of your night clothes, we need to get going." He headed after her as she started out of the room, but then dashed back and grabbed the teddy bear.

He followed his mother downstairs. His father was sitting in a chair in the livingroom, face burried in his hands. _He'll stop us..he has to. He'll stop us, and make everything right again. Everything.._But his father did nothing. He sat there as Matt's mother opened the door and ushered him outside.

Once they were in the car, Matt thought again _He'll come. He's going to stop us. He won't let us go away from him. He loves us too much. _But nothing happened. Not even as his mother started the car..

Not as she pulled out of the driveway..

Not at the end of the block..

He finally gave up hope when he saw the "Now Leaving Retroville" sign. He pulled his legs up into his chest, and sobbed. His father wasn't coming for them. Maybe he truely didn't care.


	3. I love you

**Author's note: **Sorry for taking so long. And my apologies again for a short chapter right now.

Jimmy searched through the house, feeling out of place. This wasn't where he belonged, was it? It was so desolate. The lights were all dim, and all the house was empty. There was nothing to suggest that other human beings had ever lived here other than the few articles of clothing they had left behind.

Jimmy sighed and sat down on his wife's side of the bed. The scent of her perfume still lingered in places, especially on the pillow, and before he knew it he was once again sobbing into the stack of pillows on her side of the bed. He'd give up everything to get her and Matt back, but he had no idea where they even were.

He felt like a stranger here, intruding on someone else's belongings, someone else's life. The man in the pictures that held his wife so close and had his other hand on his son's shoulder couldn't be him. That man was a distant memory of who he used to be, yes, but it wasn't him. Slowly he made his way to his son's room and pushed the door open. The bed was unmade, there were toys all over the floor, and a pair of pants laid haphazardly across a chair, as though waiting patiently for their owner to return. Jimmy, not really paying attention to his own actions picked up the toys one by one and placed them in the toy box.

There was a faint buzzing noise that snapped Jimmy out of his work, and he reached in his back pocket for his vibrating cell phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, dad!" Chirped the young voice on the other end. Jimmy sat down on the edge of Matt's bed, utterly startled. It had been a week without a phone call..were they finally going to return to him? "Hi, son." Jimmy managed to croak out.

"Mom said I can talk to you for a few minutes..but I can't tell you we're at grandma's house." Jimmy could hear the sound of Matt slapping a hand over his mouth. "Don't tell her I told you, okay?"

"All right." Jimmy agreed. "Can I talk to your mom?" There was a long silence as Jimmy felt his heart beat growing faster, roaring in his ears deafeningly, violently beating at his rib cage, threatening to explode. "Mom says I have to go now, Dad. Bye..."

"Wait!" Jimmy called, realizing it was already too late as he held the phone closer, listening to the beeping that meant the line was dead. "I love you, and your mother..I just wish I would have told you both sooner."


	4. One Secret On the Way

**Author's note: **Still taking a little while with updates, aren't I? My apologies. Thanks to the reviewers, and very sorry to anyone who feels they relate to this story. You probably have all noticed the high rating and possibly been curious as to why..well..next chapter will explain it. I feel it's only fair to give everyone warning in case they don't want to read a scene like that.

"Cynthia?" Mrs. Vortex pushed the door open, feeling like an intruder in her own home. Cindy appeared happy whenever Matt was awake, but the charade ended the minute he closed his eyes. Mrs. Vortex didn't even have the heart to chastise her daughter for marrying Jimmy when she had whole heartedly disapproved.

But to see her once strong daughter like this...

It broke her heart to pieces.

Cindy sniffled, pulling her covers up to her chin as though to hide her from some childhood boogeyman. Some foreboding shadow had grown over her heart, making her more fearful then she ever remembered being.

She could go back to Jimmy, of course. But if he didn't change his ways, what would be the point? Matt needed an attentive father to look after, not some unfamiliar man who only appeared for dinner, then went straight back to crunching numbers or working on experiments.

Or she could stay here. Her mother had told her to stay as long as she liked. It was so hard to be away from Jimmy like this..she still loved him so much. Too much to kill it over night.

And he didn't know her secret..she was going to tell him that week sometime, but with all the work he was doing she had never gotten the chance. It was becoming harder to hide now, though. Her mother had pointed out that she was gaining weight, but hadn't thought to ask about pregnancy.

How could she continue to raise Matt while bringing another child up without a father? She didn't want to do that, it wasn't fair to Matt or the unborn child.

But even after all these years, Cindy had retained her stubborness. To go back to Jimmy would be to be the first one to give in. To roll over and let him win. She couldn't bring herself to do that, no matter how much she loved him, how deeply she cared for him.

Still, she had to wonder what he was doing now...


	5. Choices

-1**Author's note: **My apologies, I know it's been a long time since I updated this story. Without further ado..

Cindy put a hand to her temple, wishing her head would stop throbbing so. She felt hung over, and she knew exactly why. Because of what she was thinking about doing today. It was unthinkable, or at least should have been. She had been raised better than this. That's the thought that kept nagging her, anyways.

It was a scary word, after all. Intimidating, even for someone with her vocabulary. Oh, not that it was a long word. It wasn't. At least, not for her. But she could not bring herself to say it out loud. She finally pushed the covers off of herself, tiptoeing across the hall to check on her son. He was out like a light, snoring. But it did not appear to be a restful sleep. He continually moved about, thrashing, almost. Cindy sighed. She could not bring him with her. He could not understand the gravity of the situation.

She got dressed quickly, before going downstairs and starting her car. She did not drive away immediately. She put her head down in the steering wheel and started to cry.

This was not her choice. This was not what she wanted to do. That one word, that scary word, emblazoned itself in her mind. _Abortion. _It was step one. How could she have a child she couldn't take care of? At the same time, how could she not try?

Almost as bad, that terrifying word brought on another one. _Divorce._ She had not been to the lawyer yet. She knew it was futile, but she had some small hope Jimmy would realize the wrong he'd done, would come find her and find some way to make it up to her.

But that was a dream. She knew it, whether awake or not. Jimmy never fixed a problem until it was almost too late. But this time, it already was.

It was too late two months ago, though not even Cindy had known it then. She had figured it would pass. That Jimmy would find some invention to speed up his work and get home sooner. Would stop working at home. At his genius level, he had often not really realized that Cindy's emotions were running rampant.

She was scared for the sake of Matt, for herself…and most, for the baby Jimmy didn't know was coming. Their baby. _But is it right for the baby to pay for mine and Jimmy's mistakes? _she asked herself, finally putting the car into gear.

The trip to the clinic would take her an hour, and she had to be back before Matt, or her mother, were awake.


End file.
